UNIT 6: DEVELOPING COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES AND INDICATORS
UNIT 6: DEVELOPING COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES AND INDICATORS
This Unit highlights the importance of ensuring that communication response activities are accompanied by Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART) communication objectives that are measured by appropriate SMART indicators.
Indicators are succinct measures that aim to describe how the program is performing. As such, they allow programmers to assess what is working and what needs to be improved. Importantly, communication objectives and indicators should be part of an M&E plan that supports the communication response.
Having completed this unit, you will have the following tools to assist you in establishing SMART communication objectives with appropriate indicators. These will support the development of your M&E plan.
? Worksheet 6.1: Defining SMART Objectives
? Worksheet 6.2: Developing SMART Indicators
What are Communication Objectives and Indicators?
Communication objectives are the desired results of an SBCC intervention, and are generally related to changes in the audiences' knowledge, thoughts, beliefs, feelings, skills or behaviors. Communication objectives are used to guide the development and direction of an SBCC intervention. The objectives should contribute to achieving the goal of bringing the emergency under control.
Indicators reflect how the SBCC interventions will be measured, and include variables that mark the change or progress toward achieving the objectives. For example, indicators can be used to measure factors such as the reach and quality of the intervention, and any influences on behavior such as knowledge, beliefs, feelings or practices. Indicators can therefore provide valuable information as to how the SBCC response is progressing, and they can highlight areas for improvement or change that need to be made to obtain the desired results. In an emergency, attention should be given to establishing indicators that can be collected easily.
Key Steps for Developing Communication Objectives and Indicators
1. Identify SMART Communication Objectives 2. Establish Appropriate SMART Indicators 3. Establish a Reference Point 4. Set Targets 5. Determine the Frequency of Data Collection and Sharing 6. Link Objectives and Indicators to the M&E Plan
Identify SMART Communication Objectives Should an emergency occur, countries will need to develop a set of communication objectives. If countries have explored qualitative and quantitative studies about household behaviors, cultural and social norms that govern behaviors, traditional beliefs, health seeking practices, knowledge about key health information and media habits in advance, and expanded that information base with data about the emergency, then developing these objectives will be fairly straightforward. As indicated previously, communication objectives concisely describe desired changes in the audiences as a result of seeing, hearing, participating in or having heard about a specific SBCC intervention. Behavioral factors that influence these changes include (but are not limited to) knowledge, thoughts, beliefs, feelings or practices. Communication objectives should be developed according to the audiences' communication needs linked to the emergency and should address the factors most likely to contain the outbreak as determined by the program objectives. Unit 2: Rapid Needs Assessment, Unit 4: Audience Analysis and Segmentation and Unit 5: Audience Profiling can help you develop appropriate, evidence-based communication objectives.
Unit 6: Developing Communication Objectives and Indicators
98
Communication objectives need to be SMART. The acronym SMART, described below, is used to highlight some important criteria that help focus the objective and monitor progress.
Specific: The objective should clearly define the expected outcome and should answer questions such as who is
involved what will be achieved and where. A specific objective will help define activities.
Measurable: The objective should include an indicator of progress and should answer questions such as how
often or how much. This will determine whether the objective is achieved.
Attainable: The expected change defined in the objective should be realistic within the given timeframe and
with the available resources.
Relevant: The objective should contribute to achieving the overall program goal. This will support developing
activities that are important to the program.
Time-bound: The objective should include a timeframe for achieving the desired change.
An easy way of developing measurable communication objectives is to ask the following three questions: ? What do you want your audience to do? ? When do you want your audience to do it? ? What is the benefit to the audience if they do what you want them to do?
Examples of SMART objectives are listed in Table 8 below, together with the behavioral factor each aims to influence. The third column of the table provides sample indicators to measure progress towards achieving the objective (discussed later in this Unit).
Table 8: SMART Communication Objectives with Behavioral Factors and Sample Indicators
Communication Objective
Within the next three months, all households in Community X will know the importance of washing hands with soap to stop the spread of cholera. Within the next six months, handwashing with soap among households in Community X will have increased from 55% to 95%. Within the next six months, all CHWs in Community X will counsel household members on the importance of handwashing with soap to prevent cholera.
Behavioral Factors Being Addressed Knowledge
Behavior
Service provision
Example Indicators
Percentage of households that know about the importance of washing their hands with soap Percentage of households washing their hands with soap
Number of CHWs trained to counsel household members to practice handwashing in Community X
To establish SMART objectives, keep the following in mind:
? Prioritize behaviors that will have the greatest impact in meeting emergency control and prevention objectives.
? Use only one action verb in each objective. Using several verbs implies that several activities and/or behaviors are being measured.
? Be specific about the target population and the behavior or issue being addressed by the objective.
Unit 6: Developing Communication Objectives and Indicators
99
? Consider that, during an emergency, the availability of products and services necessary to practice the behaviors promoted by the objectives may be affected.
? Remember that it may be necessary to develop different objectives for each phase of the emergency. Some objectives will therefore have a short timeframe, while others may have a longer one.
Exercise: Assessing Your Communication Objectives Once you have developed communication objectives, you can use Worksheet 6.1 to assess whether they are SMART and to identify how to improve them.
Unit 6: Developing Communication Objectives and Indicators
100
WORKSHEET
6.1:
DEFINING
SMART
OBJECTIVES
Purpose:
This
worksheet
will
help
you
assess
whether
the
communication
objectives
you
have
developed
are
SMART.
Directions:
Write
each
communication
objective
you
have
developed
and
verify
it
is
SMART
using
the
check
list.
Use
the
checklist
to
identify
the
areas
of
the
communication
objective
which
need
to
be
improved
in
order
for
it
to
be
SMART
Please
note
that
this
worksheet
is
followed
by
a
completed
example
that
you
can
use
as
reference
if
necessary.
Program
Goal:
______________________________________________________________________
Communication
Objective
1:
___________________________________________________________
Review
the
above
communication
objective
against
the
criteria
below:
Criteria
for
Assessing
the
Objective
Yes
No
Is
the
communication
objective
SMART?
Is
the
objective
Specific?
(Is
the
target
population,
geographic
location
and
the
activity
required
of
them
clear?)
Is
the
objective
Measurable
(Is
the
amount
of
expected
change
defined?)
Is
the
objective
Attainable?
(Can
it
be
achieved
within
the
timeframe
stated
and
with
the
resources
available?)
Is
the
objective
Relevant?
(Does
it
contribute
to
the
overall
program
goal?)
Is
the
objective
Time--bound?
(Is
the
timeframe
for
achieving
the
objective
stated?)
Does
the
objective
relate
to
a
single
result?
Is
the
objective
clearly
written?
(Are
the
desired
action
and
outcome
clear?)
If
you
have
answered
"No"
to
any
of
the
above
question
on
the
checklist,
you
should
redefine
the
objective
to
ensure
if
fits
all
the
above
criteria.
Improved
Communication
Objective:
__________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
Establish Appropriate SMART Indicators Once SMART communication objectives have been established, it is important to track their progress by identifying related indicators. Specifically, indicators contain succinct measures with numerical value so trends can be identified and comparisons can be made. Commonly, indicators are expressed in percentages, rates or ratios.
A program can use many indicators to assess different types and levels of change that result from the intervention. Generally speaking, indicators are used to measure different areas of program implementation and come in three types:
? Input indicators: These indicators are related to resources, contributions and investments that go into a program.
? Output indicators: This term refers to activities, services, events and product that reach the priority and influencing audiences.
? Outcomes: This term refers to changes in the priority and influencing audiences.
Input and output indicators provide information about the scope and quality of activities being implemented. They belong to the category of process indicators and used to monitor program implementation.
Outcome indicators measure changes towards progress of results. They belong to the category of performance indicators and are used to evaluate the outcome, effects and impact of an intervention. Table 9 below summarizes the different types and categories of indicators.
Table 9: Program Indicators by Category and Type Including Examples
Indicator Category
Process Indicators (Monitoring Indicators)
Indicator Type Input indicators
Examples
? Number of CHWs in the program Funding for activities
? Equipment
Output indicators
? Number of trainings conducted Number of leaflets distributed
? Percentage of audience segment reached by radio spots
? Number of individuals counseled
Outcome Indicators (Evaluation Indicators)
Outcome indicators
? Percentage of knowledge increase among target audience
? Percentage of target audience practicing the desired behavior
Like with communication objectives, indicators also need to be SMART. Worksheet 6.2 provides some guidance on how to develop SMART indicators.
Unit 6: Developing Communication Objectives and Indicators
102
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